Over the last two years, I have been recommending medicinal marijuana for my patients for various medical conditions, and helping them receive MMJ cards.
The common requests for my advice on recommending and for using MMJ (medicinal marijuana) are for: anxiety disorder, insomnia, chronic pain from the muscles, skeleton and nerves, the intestines, uterus, or migraine headaches.
I am happy to report that my patients are satisfied with the results (as am I to have helped relieve their suffering). Some other medical conditions that patients request help for are: parkinsonʼs disease, opioid detox for overuse or misuse or addiction to pain pills/heroin, benzodiazepine dependency, alcoholism, and depression associated with any of the above.
Other ailments not mentioned are helped as well. If used as recommended under a cannabis prescribing physician, in my opinion, it is safe and is not becoming a “gateway drug” to addictions as believed.
Besides, I am an addiction medicine physician and can help with that. It can be abused and overused such that one becomes tolerant or dependent, but large quantities need to be consumed daily. If too much THC is used daily, addiction may occur.
There are other medical precautions to observe where it should be avoided as well (this is why you should consult me before using regularly), but negative aspects of cannabis use are rare.
Using MMJ for medical conditions is complex. I studied the medical aspects of this so I am competent enough recommending it to my patients, and found it best to sit with patients for an hour (in a class setting) before recommending the MMJ card. This part of the process is rare for programs, I believe.
Besides, I enjoy teaching people about this new medical modality, and I also enjoy listening to first time experience with MMJ stories to report how it is working.
This follow-up visit is when my patients teach me how to use it effectively and how to cook it, to demonstrate the physical movements that they perform with less pain. This exchange of information is effective for the entire practice as it is passed on.
MMJ can be expensive. However, there are “on-sale” items. Dispensaries can be difficult traveling to due to medical conditions such as wheelchairshospital beds, or just too much pain to walk, so patients may use a caregiver.
If the financial situation doesn’t allow a purchase, or if the dispensary is too far away, home delivery will be available soon.
CBD Oil is an option and is sold at multiple venues. It is legal and considered food by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), not a medicine. There is 0% chance that CBD will get you high. However, many new patients present to me having used it and have had any effect on the reason they were trying it.
With research, I find that patients donʼt use enough milligrams, with 50, 100, 250, 500mg not likely to work. I instruct patients to use no lower than 1000 mg. – 3-5 drops under the tongue – or rub it on the skin for rashes, psoriasis mosquito bites, etc.
CBD OTC is the same CBD found in MMJ. I recommend a patient purchase the oil from a locally trusted pharmacy or reputable shop.
My MMJ clinic is developing quickly, and at this time is a large part of my practice. The communities that I serve are supportive and welcoming of this newly legal treatment.
Dr. Rodney Brunson is located at 201 Tilton Rd, Northfield, NJ 08225. Call (609) 484-7000.
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